Thomas Markle has been estranged from his youngest daughter Meghan Markle since shortly after her wedding to Prince Harry in 2018.

Thomas Markle has never met neither Prince Archie or Princess Lilibet. (Image: Getty/7News)

Thomas Markle is likely "very sad" to be missing out on yet another special family occasion because of his strained relationship with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, a royal expert claimed.

The former television lighting director has been effectively estranged from his youngest daughter since after her wedding to Harry in 2018.

He was due to fly to the UK to walk her down the aisle, but news of an agreement with the paparazzi paired with a heart attack days before the ceremony prevented him from attending.

Markle is not believed to have seen the Duchess of Sussex since – and he has repeatedly complained about never meeting his grandchildren, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.

With Lilibet's birthday looming, royal expert Phil Dampier spoke of the distress Mr Markle shares with King Charles as he misses out on yet another special occasion.

Princess Lilibet Diana will be turning three on June 4. (Image: The Duke and Duchess of Sussex/Misan Harriman)

Speaking to The Sun's Royal Exclusive show, Mr Dampier said: "It is amazing that she's already three but there is this underlying sadness of course because of the rift that the King is not seeing his grandchildren.

“I think he's only met Lilibet possibly once and Archie only a couple of times and they are seventh and eighth in line to the throne, growing up in California on the West Coast of America with American accents and they just don't see them.”

During her bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021, the Duchess claimed her father had lied to her about speaking to the British press in what she dubbed a "betrayal" she couldn't "reconcile."

Mr Dampier added: "So that is the underlying sadness and whether they're going to one day heal this rift, we don't know, but at the moment I don't think there's much prospect.”

The royal expert also argued Harry and Meghan face the prospect of intense questioning from Lilibet and Archie when they are older on the lack of contact with both families.

He said: "When they get a bit older, are they going to start asking questions ‘How have we got to this situation’, ‘How is it I don't see my grandparents’, ‘How is it I don't have anything to do with the Royal Family?’

“When they get old, that's probably when the problem is going to start and it's going to be difficult for them.”

Lilibet, who will be turning three on June 4, is believed to have met the King in person only once when her parents brought her and Archie to the UK to celebrate the late Queen's Platinum Jubilee in 2022.

While Archie was born in the UK and met his grandfather on multiple occasions, he was barely six months old when he moved to North America with his parents.

The Palace has be warned that a potential move could spark backlash from the public if it’s given the go ahead.

A royal expert has claimed that it’s unlikely that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will be stripped of their titles.

Ingrid Seward, editor in chief of Majesty Magazine, told The Royal Beat that it’s unlikely Meghan, 42, and Prince Harry, 39, will be stripped of their royal titles by King Charles III, even though they quit their royal duties in 2020.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle attend a reception for young people at the Palace of Holyrood House on February 13, 2018 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Photo: Andrew Milligan – WPA Pool/Getty Images.
“I don’t think anything will happen to the titles because, if they lose their titles, Harry is still a prince of the blood and Meghan, instead of being the Duchess of Sussex, [would] be Princess Henry,” Seward said, according to The Mirror.

She went on to suggest that were the Palace to strip the pair of the titles it could be seen as “unkind” move by the public.

“That really would [confuse the Americans],” she added. “I think [it’s] probably best just to leave it because it looks unkind, it looks unnecessary.”

Prince Harry was born Prince Henry Charles Albert David, but goes by Harry. If Meghan lost her title as Duchess of Sussex, she would technically be called Princess Henry, since it’s royal tradition that a princess takes an official title with her husband’s name.

The same rule applies for Kate Middleton, who is technically Princess William — but is referred to as the Princess of Wales.

“The Queen gave them the titles, let them keep them – they’re going to be ‘H and M’ anyway,” she said.

“I think the best thing is to leave them, ignore them, and let them get on with it – which is really what the Palace and the Royal Family are doing.”

Meghan and Harry stepped down as senior working members of the Royal Family in 2020, and they now live in California with their two children Archie, four, and Lilibet two.

Royal author Tom Quinn recently claimed that Charles, 75, and William, 41, “have had lengthy discussions about stripping” the couple of their royal titles.

However, he doesn’t believe the king and his heir will make the move.

“They are terrified this would backfire and make the situation worse,” Quinn told The Mirror last month. “The last thing they want is to give the renegade royals something else to complain about.”